Sweet Torture
by Blueninjamanga22
Summary: Natsu would go to hell and back for Lucy, even if he didn't know it. What he didn't plan for, however, was going on the biggest form of torture: a shopping spree. How is it that in one day a person can see what it takes months for others to realize? One-Shot, NaLu, and little bit of GaLe. T for language.


_**So I got this idea, and decided to make a one-shot out of it. I'm not continuing it; I already have two other stories to worry about. And if you are reading those stories, consider this as a break from them.**_

_**I don't own Fairy Tail.**_

_**~ * ~ * Sweet Torture ~ * ~ * **_

There was hardly ever a moment in history when Natsu was completely, utterly _bored_.

Natsu was the kind of guy who could find entertainment in watching grass grow. Well, watching grass grow with a friend of some sort. Grass could be interesting if Happy or Lucy was watching it with him. But solitude was the most boring thing in the world for him.

Happy had left earlier, claiming that he'd come up with the best idea for winning Carla's heart. That made three weeks in a row, now, that'd Happy had done exactly that. All ending in complete failure.

Natsu sighed, exiting his house and walking in the direction of Lucy's house. When he reached it, he began to climb to her window. He climbed in headfirst, looking around. Her scent was fresh, but there was no one in sight.

"Lucy?" Natsu called "are you here?" There was no answer, and Natsu's eyes wandered to her bathroom door. He flinched; he could practically _feel_ her kicking him already. Well, maybe it could be another hairbrush thrown at him. The thought made his head hurt. _Natsu, you pervert!_ Her voice echoed in his head.

"I know I'm asking for it," Natsu muttered, a hand on the doorknob. He paused, a thought coming to his head. What if he opened the door and she was in the shower, or something? Or just in a towel?

_Lucy in a towel_. The very thought made him blush. _Lucy naked_. The thought gave him what could've been a very serious nosebleed if he hadn't stopped it soon enough.

He let out a sigh, prepared himself for any form of violence, and swung open the door. Nothing.

"Shit," Natsu muttered, walking out the door. Wait; did he _want_ to see her half-naked? No! They were just friends, partners. He was just hoping to find her there so he'd know she was ok.

Natsu stopped in the kitchen, prepared to do a very well planned fridge raid, just as a voice screeched "_Natsu!_"

Ah.

So that's where she was.

Lucy was seemed to be a little overdressed than usual. A designer tank-top, jeans (freshly washed, he could smell it), all sorts of jewelry he didn't know the name of, sandals, and her hair pinned back with bobby pins. He didn't have much time to admire, though, because she grabbed the nearest thing and threw it at him.

"Ow!" Natsu exclaimed, a hand going to his head as he looked at what she threw at him "A potato, Lucy? Seriously?"

"What the hell are you doing in my house?" Lucy asked, "How do you keep getting in, anyway?"

"That is classified information" Natsu smirked "I came here 'cause I wanna have fun!"

"You couldn't have picked a worse time," Lucy sighed, "I was just leaving. I'm going shopping"

"Can I come with you?"

Lucy hesitated; eyes wide, and then raised an eyebrow "_You_ want to go _shopping_?"

"Sure, why not? I've got nothing better to do. It'll be fun!" Natsu exclaimed.

(〃￣д￣)八( ￣д￣ )八(￣д￣〃)

Natsu discovered very quickly that he had made the biggest mistake of his entire _life_. This beat the time Gray dared him to stick his tongue in a bucket full of ice water (the little bastard froze it seconds after. Natsu had to spend his day dragging around a bucket on his mouth).

Lucy just _had_ to try on every single thing. And Natsu had to carry all the merchandise in question. She hadn't even left the changing room, she would decide for herself in a mirror. So Natsu had no idea what was happening to all the clothing he was being forced to carry.

So he found ways to entertain himself. At the moment, he was trying to figure out what he could write in fire on his hands. The words '_fuck you, Gray!_' were pretty popular so far.

"Hey, Natsu?" Lucy asked, stepping out of the changing room "Does this look good?"

Natsu looked up, his concentration broke and the fire disappearing. She was wearing a two-piece bikini bathing suit, one that was midnight black. But on the edges of the top and bottom piece was the design of a single, red rose.

"Too gothic?" Lucy asked, hands on her hips. To be honest, she looked as if she stepped right out of a magazine.

"N-no. I mean, it looks good—err, you look good—no, the bathing suit looks good," Natsu spluttered, trying to find the right words "When you asked did you mean you entirely or just the bathing suit because I—"

"Hey, I get it," Lucy giggled, "You like the bathing suit". She gave him one last smile before re-entering the changing room. Natsu glanced to his hand, the fire now spelling out '_WOW_'.

Natsu shook his hand quickly, trying to get rid of the flames. The thought that Lucy might have seen that made his face turn the color of tomatoes. What happened to him? Girls in swimsuits usually meant nothing to him, after all, who cared abut how a girl dressed? What mattered was how good she was in a fight, that's what really mattered.

But now, here he was. Completely tongue-tied because of _a girl in a swimsuit_. Natsu gritted his teeth. A woman shouldn't show that much skin until she's married. Yes, he decided on that. The last thing he needed was other men ogling over Lucy.

Not that he cared if other men looked at Lucy. No! He was just trying to protect her innocence from prying eyes. After all, men are bastards. And jerks. If the pervy stripper caught a glance at her, who knows what would happen with that freak of nature?

"Hey maybe you should buy another bathing suit" Natsu called.

"What, you don't like it?" Lucy asked over the stalls.

_Are you kidding me? I love it! _A voice in Natsu's head exclaimed. Natsu decided to ignore that voice, since he was set on getting his point through to Lucy "Well, don't you think it's a little too . . . revealing?"

Lucy laughed "Natsu, if you want anyone to even notice you at a beach, or pool, for that matter, you need to show a little skin. After all, I do look good it, don't I"

_Damn right, you do_. Natsu didn't answer, gritting his teeth. He couldn't deny that she looked good in the swimsuit. On the plus side, he got to see her in a bikini. On the down side, it's a bikini. He wouldn't be the _only_ one getting to see her in such a thing.

Not that he cared, of course.

ヽ(＾▽＾)人(＾▽＾)人(＾▽＾)ﾉ

The next stop on the shopping spree to hell was the bookstore. Natsu himself could barley read as it was, so he didn't exactly like being surrounded by big words. What the hell does 'rhinoceros' mean? It sounds like a disease.

As Lucy wondered around the shop, Natsu looked through the shelves. Which, to him, meant taking down book after book and staring at the pictures on the cover. He took down a red book with that diseased-word on it when he saw a familiar face on the other side of the bookshelf.

"Gajeel?" Natsu asked.

"Natsu?" Gajeel asked, "What're you doing here?"

"I'm here with Lucy, she's buying some books about God-knows-what" Natsu answered, "What're you doing here?"

"Here with Levy, she's buying some books about who-the-hell-cares. Why'd you tag along with Lucy?" Gajeel said.

"I was bored. Why'd you tag along with Levy?"

"Levy asked me to"

"You'd do anything if she asked you?"

"Well, yeah. We dragons have got to be loyal to our mates, right?"

"What are you suggesting?"

"Lucy's not your mate?"

"What? No!" Natsu exclaimed, jumping back. His face was turning cherry red, and he could feel the heat going to his face. Sweat beaded down the back of his neck . . . why was he so nervous? It wasn't true, why couldn't he straight up say to Gajeel that Lucy wasn't his mate?

Because he was afraid Gajeel would suspect something? That he would hear a strain in his voice and find out Natsu _wanted_ Lucy to be his mate? No, Gajeel would _think_ Natsu wanted Lucy as his mate. Because he didn't. Lucy was his friend, not his mate.

"Ah, denial" Gajeel smirked "I remember back when I first found out I liked Levy. I avoided her for three weeks straight before I built up the nerve to talk to her again"

"And you're telling me this why?" Natsu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm telling you that denial isn't going to get you anywhere," Gajeel snapped "If you like her, at least drop a hint. If I know girls, they like you play with your minds. She'll drop a hint first"

"Good thing you don't know girls," Natsu said "Or else I'd—"

"Natsu?" Lucy asked, smiling as she raised an eyebrow "If you're done talking to the bookshelf, I'd like to go home now"

"Oh, yeah. Home. You're house" Natsu said, following her out the door. He walked behind her, seeing the lights of sunset reflect of her skin, seeing her hair bounce as she walked. For a second, he thought about what Gajeel said. Dropping hints? She'd drop one first? No, there was no way Lucy would like him. He was a pink-haired, fire-breathing freak of nature. And Lucy was way out of his league.

"Well, this is it" Lucy said, stopping at her house "Time for you to go home"

"Aw!" Natsu whined "Can't I sleep over?"

Lucy smiled "Maybe someday". She stood on her tiptoes to give Natsu a kiss on the cheek, causing him to blush furiously. God, he'd never blushed so many times in one day.

She gave him her last thank you, before shutting the door and leaving him out in the dark. Her smile, the one she gave him before saying he might be able to sleep over at her house one day. It was full of warmth, yes, but also mystery, slyness, and solitude. As if it held an unspoken message.

And let's not forget the most important part. _She kissed him_. On the cheek, maybe, but that still counts, right? Is this what Gajeel meant by 'dropping hints'? He very well hoped so.

Ok, time to step into the light. No use in denying it anymore: he liked Lucy Heartfilia. It was a crush, maybe love, or as a young child would say, he "like-liked" her. If he wanted anyone in the world to be his mate, he wanted it to be Lucy.

Was she playing games with his mind? The kiss on the cheek; was that really just a playful 'thank you', or did it mean something more? When she said 'maybe someday' did she mean it, or was she just messing with him? Was that counted as _flirting_ or was she just screwing with his head?

Oh, sweet, sweet torture.

(*´∀｀*)人(*´∀｀*)

_**And here it is. My fluffy little one-shot. **_

_**Like it, Love it, hate it? I'd appreciate it if you reviewed!**_

_**Aye, Sir!,**_

_**Ninja **_


End file.
